dog whistle

noun

variants or less commonly dog-whistle

ˈdȯg-ˈ(h)wi-səl 

1

: a whistle to call or direct a dog

especially : one sounding at a frequency inaudible to the human ear

2

politics : an expression or statement that has a secondary meaning intended to be understood only by a particular group of people

Democrats and liberals sometimes have gone to ridiculous lengths to portray speech by Republicans and conservatives as dog whistles responsible for inciting unstable people to carry out violent acts …

—The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch

… habitually inserts dog-whistles into his speeches to motivate evangelical voters.

—The Economist

—often used before another noun

That is the fundamental perversity of 'dog whistle politics', whereby political parties send coded messages that will be heard one way by their core supporters and another way altogether by others.

—Robert E. Goodin

Examples of dog whistle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Austria’s resurgent Freedom Party flirted with the center before once again committing itself to overt dog whistles and political references that hark back to the 1930s. —Annabelle Timsit, Washington Post, 28 June 2024

Despite the periodic dog whistles against Muslims during the elections by Modi and his lieutenants, this agenda is a primary electoral concern for only a small fraction of India’s voters. —Rohit Lamba, Foreign Affairs, 28 May 2024

These dog whistles only lead to more confusion, however, allowing people to point to the absence of immediately obvious bigotry to claim she’s being unfairly maligned. —Aja Romano, Vox, 14 May 2024

Your article is a soft racist dog whistle and divides Blacks, Jews and Palestinians. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 7 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined at sense 1